Anti-G8 Protests Target London’s Banking District

Activists plan a show of "civil disobedience" in the heart of London's Canary Wharf financial district on Friday to protest against capitalism ahead of next week's G-8 summit which Britain is hosting.

Environmentalists, poverty campaigners and opponents of the British government's austerity measures will join under the banner "They Owe Us" in a demonstration at Canary Wharf, home to major banks such as Barclays and JP Morgan, as well as other financial powerhouses.

"The businesses and banks of Canary Wharf are deciding on, funding and profiting from projects that created the economic crisis and the climate crisis," Emma Wilding, from They Owe Us, said in a statement.

Several protests have taken place in London in advance of next week's summit of leaders from the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations in Northern Ireland, but they have, so far, not been on the scale seen at previous gatherings.

On Tuesday, British riot police clashed with around 200 anti-capitalists during a day of cat-and-mouse chases through central London which brought traffic to a standstill on some of London's busiest shopping streets.

Almost 60 arrests were made.

But officers have outnumbered protesters at all their events this week. They Owe Us said it expected "a wide range of people including children and elderly activists to participate".